The al-Qaeda Franchise
The Expansion of al-Qaeda and Its Consequences
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10377405 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Austin Long (Columbia University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 132 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 565-567 |
| Publication date | 2017-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Science Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-3195 • E-ISSN: 1538-165X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1002/polq.12678 |
| OpenAlex | W2754067588 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
In February 2016, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that “Al-Qa’ida’s affiliates have proven resilient and are positioned to make gains in 2016, despite counterterrorism pressure that has largely degraded the network’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” This assessment, coming after nearly 15 years of global counterterrorism efforts led by the United States, was surely disheartening to many who heard it. Yet Barak Mendelsohn, in the conclusion to his penetrating analysis, published just a month before Clapper’s testimony, argues that “Al-Qaeda’s position is weaker than anytime since it became a household name worldwide, synonymous with non-state terrorism” (p. 211). How to resolve this seeming paradox? Mendelsohn offers a powerful explanation by combining a theoretical framework for considering the strategic choices of a terrorist group seeking to expand with careful empirical examinations of al Qaeda’s expansion. Mendelsohn observes that groups seeking to expand generally seek to do so by drawing on available resources to grow organically “by forming cells and carrying out attacks in new locations” (p. 35). Yet in some instances, terrorist groups seek to expand by developing relationships with other terrorist groups. Expansion through forming relationships with other terrorist groups can follow one of four basic patterns, according to Mendelsohn: absorption, branching out, unification, and an umbrella group. Absorption is a straightforward takeover, whether hostile or not. Unification, in contrast, is a meeting of the minds requiring genuine compatibility between groups. An umbrella group (or front) is relatively easy to proclaim but has little direct impact on organizational behavior
Al qaeda · Business · Business administration · Franchise · Political science · Terrorism · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Law
| Citations per year | 0.57 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2022 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |